General Question

Bluefreedom's avatar

Has anyone ever noticed that regular television volume is not the same as when you are using your DVD player to watch a movie on your television?

Asked by Bluefreedom (22944points) December 10th, 2008

Whenever I use my DVD player, the volume is always lower than what it was previously when I was watching regular television. I always have to adjust it higher to hear better. Does anyone know if this is a normal occurrence or do I have a problem with my television speakers, AV inputs, or current settings?

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6 Answers

Mtl_zack's avatar

You have your TV and then the cable. The TV stays the same, but the cable is set higher. So, when you turn the cable off or go to DVD mode, it goes back to standard TV volume.

Allie's avatar

Same here, Blue. I nearly burst my eardrums once when it went back to TV cause it started playing when I was still right next to it fiddling with another cord. I heard a ringing for a few minutes. My friend, however, thought it was hilarious.

augustlan's avatar

Same here. Now we have our DVD player running through our stereo speakers, though, so it’s not a problem anymore. Just have to remember to turn down the stereo volume before I turn it off…my cats like to turn it on in the middle of the night sometimes!

dynamicduo's avatar

TV volume is generally a bit lower. One of the TV tricks used is to make the TV volume lower while leaving the commercials at the regular volume level (or even turn them higher). When the commercials come on, they draw your attention more. Yes it’s a dirty trick, and it’s one of the reasons I abandoned watching broadcast television.

RandomMrdan's avatar

I’ve noticed the same thing with some TV’s…and I’ve always just assumed that when you switch back and forth from other sources such as your DVD player, or cable, depending on the particular setup…It might have something to do with the signal being digital, or analog. Or even possibly a variation within the Television using that composite connection, compared to the Coaxial connection, and so on.

With that said though, I’ve had the same thing happen while watching a show…but as I watch mostly high definition shows on TV, on occasion and most networks do this, the commercials will be analog (doens’t fit the wide screen format) and the volume shoots up really high when it breaks for a commercial. Which would only reinforce my first thought.

I’m not sure, but if it really starts to bother you, do what Augustlan has done, and run everything through a stereo receiver.

Hope it helped.

IchtheosaurusRex's avatar

Most DVDs use Dolby Pro Logic to encode the stereo audio (analog L and R) tracks. This has the effect of attenuating the volume of the dialog, since it’s folded into the middle. Dolby Surround increases the channel separation by boosing the difference signal (L-R). If a TV has only stereo speakers, it won’t sound right.

Sometimes you can go into the DVD player’s settings – systme menu, not disc menu – and set up the sound for a stereo downmix. This removes the Dolby encoding and makes it easier to hear through stereo speakers. The other option is to use a surround sound system with a center channel speaker.

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